With the establishment of a digital multi-channel broadcasting, programs corresponding to various tastes of users have been presented.
However, there is a problem that the multi-channel brings forth excessive information so that a user has difficulty precisely selecting by what channel the program desired is presented or what channel presents the program in accord with own taste merely from an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) transmitted from an enterpriser.
For meeting the problem described above, there has been executed a method of previously registering channels presenting user's favourite programs in an STB (Set Top Box), producing and displaying a program table comprising merely from program information of the registered channels when program information is transmitted from an enterpriser, and presenting the user program information.
On the other hand, recording and making a reservation on a program to be broadcast is done by referring to program information to be presented, selecting a program in accord with own taste, and inputting information such as recording data, time and a channel. There is a further method of reading a code set to each program in advance by an exclusive-use input device, and setting reservation for recording a program.
Further, when a user's favourite content is presented from a group of contents composed of a plurality of contents corresponding to the aforementioned program including one or more of stationary image data, moving image data, voice data and text data, a content program guide for visually indicating a user in what group of contents the desired content is classified and presented to a user. The content program guide corresponds to the aforementioned program table and has content information as attribute information of contents arranged on the basis of the content group. There is carried out a method wherein when a user gets access to a content presenting device in order to obtain the desired content, the user refers to the content program guide to thereby obtain information to what content group of the content presenting device the desired content belongs.
The method of presenting program information as described above presents only the program information of a channel which was judged and registered in advance by an user to the effect that such program information is in accord with own taste.
The channels are, for example, a channel for exclusively broadcasting a movie, a channel for exclusively broadcasting sports, or a channel for exclusively broadcasting news. It is supposed that a certain user registered a channel for exclusively broadcasting a movie, and a channel for exclusively broadcasting news. When EPG is transmitted from an enterpriser, STB produces and presents the user a program table comprising only the program information of the registered channel, hereupon, program information of only two channels of a channel for exclusively broadcasting a movie, and a channel for exclusively broadcasting news. However, in a case where for example, the user is not interested in sports as compared with a movie or news, but somewhat interested in soccer, and there is a soccer game the user wants to see, there occurs a problem that the user passes it over because program information was not presented.
Channels are divided into a kind of genre so that it is easy for a user to select a channel, and if the user selects a channel in accordance therewith, there is the possibility that programs the user feels to be interested be increased. However, there is a problem that all programs in each channel selected by an enterpriser are not a program felt to be interested for the user.
On the other hand, for recording and making reservation of a program, it is necessary for a user to carry out operation to make recoding and making reservation as described in the prior art, posing a problem that when a plurality of programs are recorded, operation becomes very cumbersome.
Further, since contents administrated and presented by each content presenting device are vast, the content program guide presented to a user also has a vast quantity of content information. Accordingly, since a user is necessary to search a vast quantity of content information for obtaining the desired contents, there is a problem that great labour be required.